The ARRL Contest Update Newsletter
News and Techniques for the Active Operator
(Formerly the Contester's Rate Sheet)
Contester's Rate Sheet for February 12, 2003
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Contester's Rate Sheet
12 February 2003
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Edited by Ward Silver, N0AX
SUMMARY
o ARRL DX CW -- this weekend!
o WRTC2002 Video - U.S. Premier in Seattle
o Silent Keys -- Jim Maxwell W6CF and Sandy Lynch W7BX
o WWV historical Web site
o Antenna Tuner simulator on the Web
o 160-meter Propagation articles by Bill Tippett W4ZV
o In-Depth Contest Reporting
BULLETINS
o No bulletin items this issue
BUSTED QSOS
o The address for Vermont QSO Party logs was incorrect in the last
issue. Logs are due 1 Mar to Chris Knox N1GBB, Vermont QSO Party
Coordinator, Central Vermont Amateur Radio Club, 1339 Aseltine Road,
Northfield, VT 05663. (Thanks, Steve KA1LHZ)
ANNOUNCEMENT & NOTICES FOR 12 FEBRUARY TO 25 FEBRUARY 2003
Logs are due for the following contests:
February 15 - Asia-Pacific Sprint, CW - email to: apsprint@kkn.net -
paper logs to: (none)
February 17 - LZ Open Contest - email to: lz1fw@yahoo.com - paper logs
to: LZ Open Contest, PO Box 830, Sofia 1000, Bulgaria
February 17 - 10-10 Inter. Winter Contest, SSB - email to: (none) -
paper logs to: Steve Rasmussen, N0WY, 312 N. 6th Street, Plattsmouth,
NE 68048, USA
February 18 - 070 Club PSKFest - email to: PSKFest@aol.com - paper
logs to: Steve Dominguez, N6YIH/7, 5657 Elkhorn Ave., Boise, ID
83705-2817, USA
February 18 - MI QRP January CW Contest - email to: n8cqa@att.net -
paper logs to: L.T. Switzer, N8CQA, 427 Jeffrey Avenue, Royal Oak, MI
48073-2521, USA
February 18 - Hungarian DX Contest - email to: contest@enternet.hu -
paper logs to: MTTOSZ Gyor Varosi Radioklub, PO Box 79, 9002 Gyor,
Hungary
February 18 - North American QSO Party, SSB - email to:
ssbnaqp@ncjweb.com - paper logs to: Bruce Horn, WA7BNM, 4225 Farmdale
Ave., Studio City, CA 91604, USA
February 19 - ARRL January VHF Sweepstakes - email to:
JanuaryVHF@arrl.org - paper logs to: January VHF, ARRL, 225 Main St.,
Newington, CT 06111, USA
February 24 - RSGB 1.8 MHz Contest, CW - email to:
1st160.logs@rsgbhfcc.org - paper logs to: RSGB-G3UFY, 77 Bensham Manor
Road, Thornton Heath, Surrey CR7 7AF, England
February 25 - REF Contest, CW - email to: cdfcw@ref-union.org - paper
logs to: F5LBL, Gerard Karpe, Chemin des Roses Malerargues, 30140
Thoiras, France
February 25 - UBA DX Contest, SSB - email to: berger@cyc.ucl.ac.be -
paper logs to: Michel Le Bon, ON4GO, UBA HF Contest Manager, Chee de
Wavre 1349, 1160 Bruxelles, Belgium
The following contests are scheduled:
Note that the following abbreviations are used to condense the contest
rules summaries:
SO - Single-Op; M2 - Multiop - 2 Transmitters; MO - Multi-Op; MS -
Multi-Op, Single Transmitter; MM - Multi-Op, Multiple Transmitters; AB
- All Band; SB - Single Band; S/P/C - State/Province/DXCC Entity; HP -
High Power; LP - Low Power; Entity - DXCC Entity
ARRL International DX Contest, CW, 0000Z Feb 15--2400Z Feb 16.
Frequencies: 160 -- 10 meters. Categories: SOSB, SOAB (HP >150W, LP,
QRP <5W), MS, M2, MM. Exchange: RST + State or Province or Power (KH6
and KL7 count as DX). QSO Points: 3 pts/QSO. Score: QSO points x DXCC
entities (DX counts states + provinces). For more information --
http://www.arrl.org/contests/rules/2003/intldx.html. Logs due 18 Mar
to dxcw@arrl.org (Cabrillo format only) or DX CW, ARRL, 225 Main St.,
Newington, CT 06111.
YL International QSO Party--CW--sponsored by YL International SSB
System, 0000Z Feb 15 through 2400Z Feb 16, two 6-hr off times
required. Frequencies: 160 -- 10. Categories: CW, SSB, or mixed mode,
SOAB, YL/OM Team, DX/US Team. Exchange: Callsign, RST, State, County,
YLISSB member number. QSO Points: YLISSB members on own continent--2
pts, on other cont--6 pts, DX members--3 pts, non-members--2 pts. QSO
party points may not be made on the YL net frequency of 14.332 MHz.
Score: QSO Points x SPC + Teams. For more information --
http://www.qsl.net/yl-issb/. Logs due Apr 30 to 2hamsrus@comcast.net
to N4KNF/N4ZGH, 2160 Ivy Street, Port Charlotte, FL 33952.
CQ WW 160-meter SSB Contest, 0000Z Feb 22 - 2359Z Feb 23. Exchange: RS
and SPC. Categories: SO-QRP (<5 W) -LP(<150 W) -HP, MO categories. New
rules - SO may operate only 30 hours and the DX window has been
dropped. Enter as MO if packet or spotting nets are used. QSO Points:
own entity - 2 pts, same continent - 5 pts, diff. cont. - 10 pts, /MM
stations count 5 points, but no multiplier. Score: QSO points X states
+ VE call areas (VY0 added this year) + DXCC entities (KH6 and KL7
count as DXCC only). For more information --
http://www.cq-amateur-radio.com/infoc.html. Logs due by Mar 31 to
cq160@kkn.net or CQ 160 Contest, 25 Newbridge Rd, Hicksville, NY
11801, USA.
REF French Contest--Phone--from 0600Z Feb 22 -- 1800Z Feb 23. Contact
French stations including Corsica, Overseas Territories, and EU
Council station TP2CE. Frequencies: 80 - 10-meters. Categories: SOAB,
MS, and SWL. Exchange: non-French stations send RST and serial number,
French send RST and department number or prefix. QSO Points: different
continent - 3 pts, 1 pt otherwise. Score: QSO points X departments and
prefixes counted once per band. For more information --
http://www.ref.tm.fr. Logs are due April 15 to f5lbl@ref-union.org or
Reseau des Emetteurs Francais, REF Contest, BP 7429, 37074 Tours
Cedex, France.
UBA Contest--CW--from 1300Z Feb 22 -- 1300Z Feb 23. Frequencies: 80 -
10-meters, according to the IARU band plan. Categories: SOAB,
SOAB-QRP, SOSB, MS, packet is allowed for all classes. Exchange: RST
and serial number, ON stations add their province abbr. QSO Points:
QSOs with ON stations - 10 pts, with other EU - 3 pts, outside EU - 1
pt. Score: QSO points X ON provinces + ON prefixes + DXCC entities
counted once per band. For more information -- http://www.uba.be. Logs
due 30 days after the contest to berger@cyc.ucl.ac.be or Michel Le
Bon, ON4GO, UBA HF Contest Manager, Chée de Wavre 1349, B-1160
Bruxelles, Belgium.
FYBO (Freeze Your Butt Off) Winter QRP Field Day--CW-- sponsored by
the AZ ScQRPions from 1600Z - 2400Z Feb 22. Use QRP calling
frequencies on HF bands, work stations once per band. Categories are
SO, MO, and Novice/Tech--indicate home or field. Exchange: RST, SPC,
name, power, and temperature in degrees F at operating position.
Score: total QSOs x SPC (counted only once) x Temperature multiplier x
4 (if field location) x 2 (if alternative pwr) x 2 (if QRP). Temp
mult--65+ x1, 50-64 x2, 40-49 x3, 30-39 x4, 20-29 x5, <20 x6. Add
10,000 points for a QSO with NQ7RP. For more information --
http://www.extremezone.com/~nk7m/fybo2003.htm. Logs due 30 days after
the contest to nk7m@extremezone.com or Bob Hightower, Att: FYBO, 1905
N Pennington Drive, Chandler, AZ 85224.
CQC Winter QSO Party--CW/Phone--sponsored by the Colorado QRP Club,
2200Z Feb 23 to 0400Z Feb 24. Frequencies (MHz): CW--1.825, 3.560,
3.710, 7.040, 7.110, 14.060, 21.060, 21.110, 28.060, 28.110,
SSB--1.910, 3.985, 7.285, 14.285, 21.385, 28.385. Categories are SOAB,
SOSB, SO-Homebrew. Exchange: RST, SPC, name, CQC member number or
power output (5W max). QSO Points: CW--CQC member--6 pts,
non-member--4 pts, Phone--members--3 pts, non-members--2 pts. Score:
QSO Points X SPC (count once per band) X names (one name from each
letter of the alphabet) + 1000 pts for QSO with W0CQC. For more
information -- http://www.mtechnologies.com/cqc/. Logs due 30 days
after the contest to contest@cqc.org (ASCII text only) or Colorado QRP
Club, Box 371883, Denver, CO 80237-1883.
North Carolina QSO Party--CW/Phone--sponsored by the Forsyth Amateur
Radio Club, 1700Z Feb 23 -- 0300Z Feb 24. Frequencies (MHz):
CW--3.540, 3.740, 7.040, 7.140, 14.040, 21.040, 21.140, 28.040,
28.140, Phone--3.860, 7.260, 14.260, 21.360, 28.360 and any VHF/UHF,
note no 160-meter QSOs. Categories: SO, Mobile, Club, all stations
100W max. output. Mobiles may be worked again as they change counties.
Exchange: RST and NC county, ARRL/RAC section, or DX prefix. QSO
Points: phone--2 pts, CW--3 pts, NC mobile--3 pts (either mode).
Score: NC stations--QSO points x NC counties + ARRL/RAC sections + 1
DXCC entity, others--QSO points x NC counties (max 100). 50 bonus
points for working Cherokee or Dare counties (150 for working both)
and 50 points for working W4NC or W4WS (150 points for both). Mobiles
add 100 bonus points for each NC county activated. For more
information -- http://www.w4nc.com. Logs due April 1 to
henry@summitschool.com or NC QSO PARTY c/o W2DZO, 934 Franklin Street,
Winston-Salem, NC 27101
Grupo Argentino De CW Key Day--CW--from 1800Z Feb 22 -- 0600Z Feb 23.
Frequencies (MHz): 3.530, 7.030, 14.030, 21.030, 28.030. Exchange: RST
and GACW number. For more information -- http://gacw.no-ip.org. Logs
due Mar 15 to gacw@lan.no-ip.org or GACW, PO Box 9, B1875ZAA -- Wilde,
Buenos Aires, Argentina.
NEWS & PRESS RELEASES
There will be a new 2003 Field Day packet this year, including
information on the new "F" class for stations operating at an EOC
(Emergency Operations Center). The redesigned DX Contest certificates
started to hit the mails during the week of January 27 and the newly
designed June VHF plaques for 2001 are actually in the mail -- really!
(Thanks, Dan N1ND)
More than 60 DXers and contesters got together in Seattle, WA to host
Martti OH2BH and Pertti OH2PM (on their way home from the AH3D
operation) at the U.S. Premier of the WRTC2002 video. It's quite a
show with uptempo, pro-sports narrative, fast action, and top
contesters. Excellent graphics and editing done by contesting's own
James Brooks, 9V1YC. Shot by James and Dave Bell W6AQ, this is an
all-time best ham radio video. The DVD version has some extra data
and programming on it, as well. The video is available from
http://home1.pacific.net.sg/~jamesb/.
In case you were wondering about our National Institute of Standards
time and frequency reference stations, Bob N6WG contributes a very
interesting short history of WWV at
http://tf.nist.gov/stations/wwvhistory.htm.
Tibor, HA1AH (ha1ah@firemail.de), announces a new software package for
contest logging. It supports several DX contests, including HA and
Russian contests. It supports multi-stations networking, packet
interface, ADIF export/import, full Cabrillo support, and other
features. A test download can be downloaded from Tibor's Web site at
http://www.cq.hu/ha1ah.
The AGCW contest rules are being changed. The new rules and dates are
available at http://www.agcw.de. (Thanks, Kai-Uwe Hoefs, DL1AH)
Silent Key -- Jim Maxwell W6CF. Jim's passing leaves a big, big hole
in ham radio. You might want to check out some of his history on the
ARRL Web site (http://www.arrl.org). He was a personal friend going
back more than a dozen years, but many have been blessed to call him
friend for much longer. N6TJ, a frequent contributor to this
newsletter and for whom W6CF served as QSL manager for many years,
offers these thoughts. "I first met Jim in October 1962, when we both
worked at Lockheed in Sunnyvale. Our mutual friend Hillar N6HR (then
WA6HRS), arranged for Maxwell (then W6CUF, of course, and I was W6BHY)
and I, to multi-op the CD Party from the Lockheed club station WA6GFY.
Thirty minutes before the contest starts, HERE COMES MAXWELL, dragging
the wires from his very old Vibroplex, and with enough groceries to
last a week. That was the beginning to our 40+ years of friendship.
Jim handled my QSLing for 25 years, and was a great promoter of
anything contesting, DXing, and especially CW. When I took a job on
Ascension Island in 1968, it was Jim who 'picked' my ZD8Z call sign.
We had many QSO's over the years, and he was always encouraging me
with his friendly smile, keen wit, and devotion to our hobby. Jim was
the smartest man I've ever known. God, I'll miss him. Rest In Peace,
Dear Friend."
Silent Key #2 -- a little less known than W6CF, but a very visible
piece of the contest and DX-ing scene in the Pacific Northwest, Sandy
Lynch W7BX passed away this last Saturday as a consequence of a sudden
infection. Sandy was best known for his rapier wit. Our convention
hospitality suites will never be the same without him.
For those of you working the CW Sprint this past weekend -- the names
"Jim" and "Sandy" were tributes to these gentlemen. The name "Cat"
was a tribute to the lovely XYL of contester Mark Obermann AG9A who
lost her battle with illness just the week before. It's been a tough
last few weeks -- I hope we can all be using our own names in the
contest for a while.
RESULTS AND RECORDS
The Web-based results for the September VHF QSO Party and the 10 GHz
contest are now available to the public. Log checking has also been
completed for the 2002 CW Sweepstakes. (Thanks, Dan N1ND)
The Web results of the September VHF QSO Party include a PDF version
of the article that appears in QST and a expanded Web version of that
article including links to all the boxes that used to appear in print
and now appear only on the Web. Some of this content will be available
only to ARRL members and will be so marked. If you are unsure as to
how to make full use of the Web results and the associated links,
there is a special sidebar article describing how to do so. There is
really a lot of information there! (Thanks, Gene W3ZZ)
TECHNICAL & TECHNIQUE
If you have static build-up problems on your antennas, there are
several possible solutions. John W0UN points out that, "If you get a
nearby lightning strike it is possible to blow high-value,
small-wattage resistors and never know it--then you no longer have
static protection. If you are using monobanders then you could use
shorted 1/4 wave coaxial stubs. They provide the DC shunt you want as
well as reducing your second harmonic by about 30 dB (and high-order
even harmonics). If you need a broadband static drain then use the ICE
lightning suppressors. They have a DC drain from a toroidal RF choke
that is better than a small resistor--plus they have a DC block that
may be useful (or may not--depending on your needs for DC down the
coax)." Array Solutions and Cable Experts both carry the ICE products.
(also thanks to Jon NA9D)
The latest QST (Feb) has a product evaluation of several high-power
"full legal limit" antenna tuners -- very good reading. You may not be
aware of how many different settings an antenna tuner may have that
match to a load - some are much more efficient than others. Rather
than burn up your tuner trying figure out which is which, an excellent
way of getting some practice off-the-air is W9CF's online T-network
tuner simulator, at http://fermi.la.asu.edu/w9cf/tuner/tuner.html. The
simulator is faster, you can't damage it, you can give it any load
impedance you like, and it also calculates percentage power loss. A
general method to match with the lowest loss in a "T"-network tuner is
to always start with the output capacitor at maximum capacitance and
tune the inductor next. This is all explained in great detail in
"Getting the Most Out of Your T-Network Antenna Tuner" by W4ULD in
QST.January 1995. Frank Witt, AI1H also wrote a two-part classical
article on how to evaluate your antenna tuner, especially on loss
(April and May 1995 QST).(Thanks, Chuck W1HIS and Joe, W1JR)
In case you were wondering, "A Stratwarm is a major disturbance of the
winter polar middle atmosphere (troposphere to D-region) resulting
from a breakdown of the polar vortex into two cells. Air trapped in
the vortex is mixed by the new meridional flow and can be exposed to
sunlight. Solar Lyman alpha ionizes the nitric oxide, enhancing
electron density and producing strong HF absorption. This comes from
NOAA: http://www.ngdc.noaa.gov/stp/SOLAR/solarda3.html. The link will
take you to a paper: "SOLAR DATABASES FOR GLOBAL CHANGE MODELS"; by
H.E. Coffey, E.H. Erwin and C.D. Hanchett; Solar-Terrestrial Physics
Division NOAA NESDIS National Geophysical Data Center; 325 Broadway,
Boulder, Colorado 80303." (Thanks, Rod N0RC)
Need some pre-made coaxial cables? Here are some sources gleaned by
Dave K1TTT after a recent request on the Towertalk reflector
(http://www.contesting.com).
- Cable Experts - http://www.cablexperts.com
- Davis RF - http://www.davisrf.com
- The RF Connection - http://www.therfc.com
- Radio Warehouse - http://www.radio-warehouse.com
- The Wireman - http://www.thewireman.com/
- ComTek - http://www.comteksystems.com
- Universal Radio - http://www.universal-radio.com/
- Pasternack Enterprises - http://www.pasternack.com
Bill W4ZV posted his 160-meter articles on unusual 160-meter
propagation at:
http://users.vnet.net/btippett/long_and_skew_path_articles.htm. Bill
(and AA1K) also just completed their 160-meter WAZ, one of the hardest
things to do in all of ham radio. Congrats! (Thanks, Bill W4ZV)
CONVERSATION
In-Depth Contest Reporting
Scott, W4PA, and I are going to be creating the contest writeups for
the ARRL DX contests once again for 2003. Last year, we got a taste of
the possibilities of a Web-based write up. This year, we feel that -
with your help - we can look deeper into the scores and improve the
breadth and scope of the coverage. The key element will be getting
information from the participants. There are two aspects that we will
tackle this year...
First - regional coverage. Because the Web write-up can, for all
intents, be as long as we want, it's high time to introduce in-depth
regional coverage. An obvious way to divide the North American
coverage is by ARRL Divisions - there are 15 of them. It would also be
great to have regional coverage from Canada, Europe, Japan, South
America, and Oceania. What we need is a volunteer (an individual or a
group) from each of the ARRL Divisions and elsewhere around the world
to write about the competition from their region. They will be given
access to score data from that region in the same form in which Scott
and I get them. This is an EXCELLENT way for those great regional
races and records to be identified. No one knows your regional
operators, stations, and propagation like you do, so please consider
lending a hand. Print space limitations have "squeezed out" many great
contest stories and accolades in past years - those days are gone! If
you are interested in doing this quite-manageable job, please contact
either W4PA (w4pa@yahoo.com) or me (n0ax@arrl.net). You don't have to
be a polished writer - just enthusiastic - we'll act as your editors.
Second - more information about the competitors themselves. ARRL HQ
can only process so much information - they have their hands full
handling the logs and checking the QSOs. There is a lot of interesting
information that doesn't fit in the line scores, but makes a
difference at the personal level and simply as human interest. We are
going to try to collect some of this information -- Bruce Horn WA7BNM
has graciously volunteered to create a Web page that will act as a
survey form. Scott and I will analyze the results, adding a new
dimension to contest coverage beyond just the points and categories.
We hope you'll agree that these new elements will add interest and
excitement to the traditional post-contest writeups. For the best
possible writeups, you should add your information soon after the
contest while it is still fresh! We'll be looking forward to
receiving it! Here are just some of the questions:
Latitude & Longitude (approximate)
If you entered a single op category, did you operate SO2R?
Would you consider your operation to have been a serious or casual
effort?
If you entered the same category as last year, what was last year's
score?
How many hours of work did you do in the shack or on antennas during
the week preceding the contest?
Did you have specific goals for this year's contest?
Did you achieve those goals?
Which band had the biggest increase in QSOs?
Which band had the biggest increase in mults?
What was your top rate in QSOs/hour?
What was the percentage of time you spent CQ-ing vs.
Search-and-Pouncing
How many hours did you spend on the air?
How many hours of sleep did you get?
The Web sites will be available after the contest at these URLs:
CW: http://www.hornucopia.com/surveys/arrldxcw.php
SSB: http://www.hornucopia.com/surveys/arrldxssb.php
I sure hope you'll log on afterwards and fill in all or some of the
information. In addition, if you've chafed at relative anonymity in
the past and wished that some of the great competition in your region
could make the write-up, please consider getting a couple of friends
together to help make those great stories known!
See you in the pileups this weekend!
73, Ward N0AX
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
The Contester's Rate Sheet wishes to acknowledge information from the
following sources:
WA7BNM's Contest Calendar Web page -
http://www.hornucopia.com/contestcal/ ARRL Contest page -
http://www.arrl.org/contests/
SM3CER's Web site - http://www.sk3bg.se/contest/
Page last modified: 04:29 AM, 06 Dec 2008 ET
Page author: rate-sheet@arrl.org
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